Friday, October 1, 2010

Kingman, Arizona

I'll go back to our recent trip around California and Nevada, to tell you about Kingman, Arizona.

After our Las Vegas days, we swung down to Arizona by way of Hoover Dam, which I still prefer to call Boulder Dam. What a mistake! It took forever to wind down the hill from Boulder City to the dam, then it was single file through the entire approach, across the dam, and then up to the main highway on the Arizona side.

Of course, during this, pedestrians crossing the road have the right of way, and there were thousands of them! They were there to tour the dam itself or to just walk across it and take pictures. And they took pictures from both sides.What was really irksome was the drivers who would stop their cars so they could get a picture of something. If we hadn't been doing the same thing, I'd have been really angry!

The new bridge crossing over the Colorado River just below the dam is going to be something else. Suzy says she doesn't ever want to drive over it, especially with the motor home!

At the end of that travel day we found ourselves in Kingman, Arizona, a major stop along old Highway 66, "The Mother Road." We had wanted to see the "Keepers of the Wild," a refuge for damaged or abused animals, several miles along old Highway 66. Turns out they are closed on Tuesdays, and that's when we were in Kingman.

So we visited a couple of museums covering the history of Kingman and Route 66. At the Mojave Museum of History and Arts, a corner room was given over to Kingman's favorite son, the gravel-voiced western sidekick actor, Andy Devine.

Andy was often a comic character, but often he had a more serious role along with the comic relief. He starred with legendary John Wayne in Stagecoach and other films. In all, Andy made over 400 films and more radio, stage and television appearances than anyone cared to count. He was in the first pictures that Hollywood greats Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne made.

Have never been through that section of Arizona around Kingman. Had I got my (I seldom do) this year & left home earlier, our route would have been through there heading for the Death Valley area. Have been to Boulder/Hoover dam a couple times & it was always crowded. Humanoids everywhere!! I remember Andy Devine from the 'Wild Bill Hickock' TV series.

We'll have to spend more time in Kingman next time we're down that way. We crossed Hoover Dam on April 29, 2010 and didn't have too much traffic. That new bridge looks amazing! We stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel in Kingman, then headed for the Grand Canyon, where we ran into snow.

That's the first picture I've seen of the new bridge with the spans completed. When we were there a few years ago, there was a huge gap in the middle and I always wondered how they were going to join the 2 parts.

We drove thru Kingman but didn't know about the Andy Devine exhibit or we probably would have stopped to have a look. I remember him, and Gabby Hayes, from the old TV westerns.

Andy came to our little town in NEBRASKA one day back in about 1950 and My brother got to sit on his lap and have his picture taken....I remember seeing that picture a long time ago, sure wish I could see it again,,,wonder where it is?

What a difference a day makes (was that a song?). I crossed Boulder Dam (my preferred name) on October 2, the day after you, and had light traffic. There was some pedestrian traffic but it was not bothersome. The only stop that I made was at the security check-point where they did a quick look-see.

About Us

We are old married folks, since 1960. After raising two daughters and helping with their kids, we hit the road in 2002, and haven't stopped since. We are full-time RVers, but we winter in Benson, AZ, at the SKP Saguaro Co-op Park.

About Our Travel Style

We recently traded in our motorhome for a 28-foot travel trailer, and traded in our 2004 Suzuki for a 2007 Toyota Tundra pickup. As of this writing (November 6, 2014), we haven't gone anywhere with this combination, for a variety of reasons.

In the meantime, we are living in a park trailer, technically an RV, but firmly attached to the ground in the SKP Saguaro Co-op RV Resort.

Keep an eye over here -- we hope to make some changes soon!

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